Persona 4

A few friends of mine recommended the persona series. One of my only friends that watches anime that I can talk about anime with said that this game is a must try as far as the RPG and anime style games go. I came into this game knowing that I would spend a ridiculous amount of time playing this game. Make that about 56 hours of game-time right up until the end.

Upon entering the game you are briefed with a very nice anime opening of a mysterious limousine that you later come to know as the Velvet Room. This room will be the basis of your many fusions that can be performed throughout the game between the different Persona's (more on this later).

The spinning hubcab and the tire of this limousine are represented in a fully animated cut-scene. A very nice feature that I wish would happen more frequently throughout the story. In the beginning of the game there are a few anime cut-scenes which are beautiful, but unfortunately they quickly become scarce in the plot of the story and it is a shame they don't happen more consistently, as it would make the story that much more gripping to see the characters you interact with (and build a small bond with - believe it or not) in full animation rather that janky PS2 movements. A few moments after entering the Velvet Room the game present another one of it's diamonds: the voice acting.

The voice acting in Persona 4 is something to marvel at. Not only does it serve as a gameplay function, but it also proves to be very gripping when listening to the characters. There is always a text alternative to the voice option, so if you're without sound you won't be left out. The way that the voice acting can serve as a small gameplay function is that it turns out to be a blatant indication of the importance of a character in the story, or to your advancement in the game (Note: These two ARE different things. The story is the main plot of the story of the game, and the advancement envelopes all of the Leveling and RPG developments that you as the player perform).
The characters in the story make this story worth playing. I have to say the persona 4 story is a very well done rendition of the interaction between highschool students (even if the characters are somewhat naive at times to certain subjects). I found myself laughing at points, and genuinely shocked at other times. The story by itself is good, but the presentation, the cut-scenes and the voice acting really bring it home and it turns to be something really worth trying out.

Certain characters within the story only server the purpose of advancing your Social Links. These social links make your fusions more powerful. From what I can see that is their only purpose. However, they are not to be taken lightly as the social linking aspect of the game is very large. The way the game lays out is in days. You recieve four sections of days, morning, afternoon, after-school, and night. Only certain actions can be preformed in each section of the day. The mornings are usually sanctioned off for the singular use of presenting the player with a question that may increase the stats of the character at school. The afternoons usually present some sort of interaction between the player character and his peers, as well as a chance to improve social links. The after-school area is where the bulk of all the game's actions are done. This is where you can preform the majority of your typical RPG elements, doing quests, buying items for your party, and talking to the random NPC's walking back and forth.

The weather also dictates what you can do on a given day. There are three types of weather in Persona 4, absolute downpour, fog, and bright sun. If it is raining on a given day it will make the monsters in your current dungeon a little easier to fight, however if it is foggy then the monsters will become mercilessly strong. The sunny days are your comfortable medium if you wish to even enter the dungeons on those days. The sunny days are the days you primarily get to advance your Social Links. The rainy days turned out to be the days that I would go do my mundane RPG tasks.

You can also scour the dungeons within the after-school time-frame. I will not reveal how these dungeons become available due to the possibility of a spoiler. In these dungeons you have your typical Turn based RPG fights with your party. Which you can customize the members of as the game goes on to your liking, or in an effort of min/max your efficiency in battles (if you're crazy like me).

These fights are generally quickly handled (unless you're at a sub-boss or boss; of course). There's even a rush option if you just want your characters to beat the snot out of the random mob you run into. This is good due to the fact that you'll be repeating the same fight more than once per floor of the dungeon. Not to mention the fact that dungeons can have up too eleven floors in them. It's disappointing that you may even have to grind to level up your characters due to the difficulty level on the various settings. This game WILL kick you ass on the higher difficulty levels in the fights. Even the regular passing fights shouldn't be taken lightly within the upper difficulties.

The presentation in Persona 4 is truly j-pop. If you don't know what I mean by that, google it. This game is handled in a strictly modern japanese culture vibe, from the upbeat music that loops throughout the school, to the flashy colorful menus. Each text box has a drawn rendition of the character (if they're important) you're talking too. This makes it easier to personify the characters within the story. I enjoyed the music in this game I actually ended up borrowing the soundtrack from a friend of mine.

The save points in Persona 4 are scarce. You can only save when the game pretty much lets you. Strategic saving is something each player must do. Save before boss fights, and every moment the game lets you. The game will sit you down pressing x to advance a text based cut-scene, for sometimes and obscenely long amount of time.